I could not resist but had to take the card apart... What a waste: x many times (how many "copies" of this advertisement were produced?) two batteries, electronics, some kind of a speaker and all just to grab the attention of the customer...

Having complaint to Unox/Unilever resulted in an email where they write that they are sorry ("Het spijt ons te vernemen dat u een klacht heeft over de Unox 'muziekkaart'."). Have a close look at the different world views that are crashing into another: they will clearly upset the people who are pro environment and durability. On the other side they attempt to target people who have little time and are concerned about the amount of vegetables they (and their families?) are eating. I wonder: who is concerned about that? And how likely is it that especially those customers do not care sufficiently about the environment that they would think that such a door-to-door flyer would be okay to do and a great idea?

What is most irritating to me is the sentence where they claim that they have - naturally (!) - looked at the most durable way to bring their message across ("Natuurlijk hebben wij hierbij gekeken naar de meest duurzame manier om dit te doen."). Really?

A wise statement: when looking at a culture, avoid judging what you see. Often you will realize that things are not better or worse, but different. And they still work.

It intrigues me to see that beyond differences in culture, there are regularly also emphases on aspects of society that reflect such differences. You can note them when you stumble across things you are not used to see in other countries.

An example: The Netherlands has a very good road infrastructure. Regularly the top asphalt layer is replaced. Afterwards a sign is placed warning drivers that the road surface has been renewed and as a consequence it will require a longer stopping distance (“bituplaning”). Why do you not see such signs in more countries? Is it demonstrating technological expertise and progress? Is it reflecting a genuine concern for the safety of the road users? Or simply a great business idea by the producer of the road signs?

How bad can marketing get? Yesterday a door-to-door flyer from Unox (Unilever) arrived at our home. While I do not mind getting paper-based advertisements (at least they can be recylced), this one tops everything: I now received hazardous waste from Unilever with a clear sign on the back side that this advertisement card may not be put into our household waste. This is really what I have been waiting for. Having to dispose off special waste from Unox.

Why? It includes a battery and electronics delivering not a printed but a spoken message. Yes, this is innovative marketing. Yes, it grabs your attention. And yes, they seem to think that getting the consumer's attention justifies their choice of advertising medium. But how on earth can you justify sending such electronic waste to I do not know how many households in the Netherlands? Only on Tuesday I have been listening to Graham Cross (Director of Supplier Innovation at Unilever) stating that Unilever intends to double the company size while not increasing their ecological footprint. Right...

Well, maybe they got some new customers this way. They certainly lost one with me.